Origins by Mark Henrikson Page B

second best piece of piloting I have ever witnessed.”
    “Good lord.  What was the best landing you ever saw then?” Valnor asked.
    “You should know ensign, it’s the one I’ve visualized you making about an hour from now,” Hastelloy said with the utmost confidence.
    Gallono whistled softly. “That must have been one hell of a light show to see from the ground.  Where did they finally land?” he asked.
    “They set down near a river delta on the northern most tip of a continent along the equator,” Tonwen reported.  “According to my findings, the largest concentration of species Sigma is nearby.  They could not have picked a more damaging place to land from a cultural contamination point of view.”
    “Sorry Valnor, I have to revise my prior statement.  That was the absolute best display of piloting skills I have ever seen.  On top of the difficult entry, they hand picked their landing site and hit it right on the mark.  This was no coincidence.  The Alpha weren’t content to simply put down on dry land anywhere on the planet.  They needed to get the local population involved in this fight,” Hastelloy said, while not entirely able to hide his admiration of the feat.
    “But why would they do that?  Species Sigma might be hostile to them,” Valnor naively asked.
    “That’s a possibility,” Hastelloy answered, “but not a likely one.  Think about it.  A giant ball of fire descends from the heavens and lands right next to a primitive civilization.  Then out step these magnificent beings who possess weapons of unimaginable power.  My best guess is the local population will run and hide.  The real purpose of their landing site choice is to thwart my attack plans.
    “Had they landed in the middle of nowhere we would simply bring our people out of the Nexus and assault them with many hundreds of times their numbers.  Our victory would’ve been a certainty.  Now that the planet’s indigenous population has come into play, the council’s noninterference directive must dictate our actions.”
    “Are the council directives standard reading for Alpha combat officers now?” Gallono asked rhetorically while looking like he was ready to kick in his workstation.  “They use our rules of engagement against us at every turn.  First the no attacks without a collector ship in the assault force, now the noninterference directive for inhabited planets.  Why don’t the politicians in the council tie our hands behind our backs while they’re at it?”
    Before his first officer could really get going, Hastelloy interrupted. “I think that resolution is up for a vote next week, in the mean time we have our orders.  Valnor, can you use the thrusters to adjust our descent so we land on an island in that sea just above the Alpha’s landing site?  It looks like there’s one about 50 miles off the coast that will work well.”
    “I can, but why would we do that?” Valnor asked.  “This landing will be tough enough without adding the extra difficulty of having to a im for a tiny island; plus that will put us farther away from the Alpha and delay our attack.”
    G allono lent his support to Valnor’s argument.  “He raises some valid issues sir.  Once we land we need to go after the Alpha right away. If we’re stuck on an island it will take more time to construct a boat capable of carrying us to the mainland.  By that time, who knows how well entrenched the Alpha might be.”
    “Valnor, put us down on the island I indicated,” the Captain ordered with a hint of frustration in his voice.  “Your point is well taken, but the council directive for landing on an inhabited planet couldn’t be more clear.  If it is controllable, we are to put down in an isolated area to eliminate any chance of Neo scale cultural contamination.  Species Sigma is not seafaring yet so the nearby island is the appropriate landing site, regardless of how inconvenient it might be for us.”  Expecting this